That eternal question: how do I get pupils to read more?
What is the most effective way of encouraging pupils in Years 5 and 6 to read more?
It is generally agreed (to the point of it almost becoming a truism) that the best way to become a better reader is to read more. Except there can be a problem with this approach: how does one persuade pupils to read more if they are not already enthused?
This can indeed seem an impossible conundrum. However, one simple way forward which has been found to be successful is to offer the children stories they can immediately relate to.
For while many enthusiastic readers will willingly immerse themselves in stories from other times, places and situations, reluctant readers can be noticeably less inclined to do this. Contemporary children’s literature is a great way of getting pupils reading because they will be able to relate easily to the stories, diverse characters and settings and be able put themselves in the character’s shoes.
Of course, at the same time the language of each story needs to be considered, and indeed graded by difficulty, so that the story itself can be appreciated. But where this is done, instead of the reading being seen as an unwelcome preface to the answering of questions, it becomes something enjoyable in its own right.
From this point on a greater willingness to discuss and answer questions will undoubtedly follow. Once engaged in a text that is enjoyable, even the most reluctant reader will begin to follow the stories, and thus become more ready to talk about the text and answer questions.
To achieve this aim, “Developing Reading Comprehension Skills Years 5-6 Contemporary Children’s Literature” includes a set of worksheets for each story. These can be used to systematically teach the children the ability to infer meaning, make predictions, analyse the authors’ use of language and make comparisons as well as exploring the vocabulary used.
What’s more the activities in the book give pupils practice in answering the type of questions that they will encounter in their KS2 SATs, so they will become familiar with the insights that will be needed.
Read this descriptive extract, with a hint of magic, from October, October by Katya Balen and answer some questions
You can find out what other contemporary fiction is included in the book here.
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